Compaq Portable III fails POST?

[David Hunt]

> I think this one is on-topic. I got a Compaq Portable III 
> dumped on my doorstep (more or less literally, actually), and 
> while I don't really collect PCs, this one's form factor 
> fascinated me. However, it seems like it's failing POST or 
> its equivalent -- when I turn it on, the caps lock light on 
> the keyboard (literally hanging on by a few threads) blinks, 
> then the three lights on the front bezel and the 5.25" floppy 
> light blink three times accompanied by three beeps from what 
> appears to be the power supply?, and it just sits there, 
> doing three beeps pause three beeps pause ..., until I turn it off.
> 
> Nothing else spins up and nothing shows on the screen, even 
> with me messing with the contrast. Any suggestions, or is 
> there a troubleshooting manual to give me some starting 
> points to see if I can refurbish this? Is the fact that the 
> keyboard is probably incompletely connected to blame?

I had the same problem with my Portable 386 because the PSU died, when I
disconnected the hard drive it started up ok. All I've got left of it is a
pile of spare parts, e.g. mem board, Weitek etc. I don't know how different
it is from the Portable III. The CMOS battery lasted around 12 years, so I'm
not too bothered about replacing it with another (although expensive)
lithium.

Anyone in the UK who has one they don't want...

It's a fun (small) way of having a 386DX PC, with the expansion box you can
have SVGA, SCSI and Ethernet connectivity. Mind you Netscape/IE3.31 on Win
3.11 is like watching paint dry in the rain.

Dave ;)